Delayed actuation fuel cap

Abstract

A filler neck cap is provided for closing a threaded filler neck of a tank. The cap includes a housing having threads for engaging the filler neck, a seal for sealingly engaging the filler neck upon rotation of the housing in a first direction, and a handle for rotating the housing relative to the filler neck. The handle includes a top wall and an appendage directly appended to the underside of the top wall and cantilevered downwardly therefrom at a point spaced apart from the axis of rotation of the handle. The cap further includes a delayed actuation mechanism for providing a lost-motion driving connection between the handle and the housing. The delayed actuation mechanism includes an annular ring engaging the housing and a driven lug appended to the annular ring. The driven lug engages a terminal portion of the appendage during rotation of the handle about its axis of rotation to provide the driving connection between the handle and the housing.

I claim: 
     
       1. A cap for use in the filler neck of a tank, the cap comprising closure means for closing the filler neck,   handle means for rotating the closure means relative to the filler neck about an axis of rotation, the handle means including a shell having a top wall bounded by a cylindrical side wall, a handle formed on the top wall for rotating the handle means, and an appendage directly appended to the underside of the top wall, the appendage cantilevered downwardly from the underside of the top wall at a location off-center from the axis of rotation of the handle, and   delayed actuation means for providing a lost motion driving connection between the handle means and closure means, the delayed actuation means including an annular ring engaging the closure means and a driven lug appended to the annular ring, the driven lug engaging a terminal portion of the appendage during rotation of the handle means about its axis of rotation.   
     
     
       2. The cap of claim 1, wherein the annular ring lies inside the cylindrical side wall and includes a cylindrical outer edge adjacent to the cylindrical side wall, and a cylindrical inner edge concentric to the cylindrical outer edge, and the driven lug includes a proximal end appended to the cylindrical inner edge. 
     
     
       3. The cap of claim 2, wherein the driven lug is straight and is arranged to extend in a radially inward direction toward the axis of rotation of the handle means. 
     
     
       4. The cap of claim 2, wherein the driven lug is L-shaped and is formed to include means for grasping the driver during rotation of the handle means in a cap-advancing direction and anti-drift means for releasably retaining the driver in the grasping means. 
     
     
       5. The cap of claim 1, wherein the annular ring includes a cylindrical inner edge and the appendage extends downwardly from the top wall along an axis parallel to the axis of rotation of the handle means into a region bounded by the cylindrical inner edge. 
     
     
       6. The cap of claim 5, wherein the driven lug is appended to the cylindrical inner edge. 
     
     
       7. The cap of claim 5, wherein the driven lug is formed to include means for grasping the appendage during rotation of the handle means in a cap-advancing direction and anti-drift means for releasably retaining the appendage in the grasping means. 
     
     
       8. A cap for use in a filler neck of a tank, the cap comprising closure means for closing the filler neck,   handle means for rotating the closure means relative to the filler neck about an axis of rotation, and   delayed actuation means for providing a lost motion driving connection between the handle means and closure means, the delayed actuation means including an annular ring engaging the closure means, a pair of driven lugs appended to the annular ring, and a pair of appendages of substantially uniform cross section directly appended to the underside of the handle means, the appendages cantilevered downwardly from the underside of the handle means and arranged to engage the pair of driven lugs during rotation of the handle means about its axis of rotation.   
     
     
       9. The cap of claim 8, wherein the handle means is a shell having a top wall, the top wall includes a handle oriented to bisect the top wall along a major diameter of the top wall to form a first and second semi-circular portion and a cylindrical side wall appended to the top wall, the pair of appendages are arranged to lie inside the cylindrical wall, and a first of the pair of appendages is situated in the first semi-circular portion and a second of the pair of appendages is situated in the second semi-circular portion. 
     
     
       10. The cap of claim 9, wherein the shell is a molded plastic shell including ejector pins for releasing the shell from the mold and the pair of appendages are formed by cutting short the hollow cylindrical ejector pins used in the molding process. 
     
     
       11. The cap of claim 9, wherein the pair of appendages extend downwardly from the top wall along an axis parallel to the axis of rotation. 
     
     
       12. The cap of claim 9, wherein the annular ring lies inside the cylindrical side wall in between the top wall and closure means, the annular ring includes a cylindrical outer edge adjacent to the cylindrical side wall and a cylindrical inner edge concentric to the cylindrical outer edge, and the pair of driven lugs are appended to the cylindrical inner edge of the annular ring and extend radially inward toward the axis of rotation. 
     
     
       13. The cap of claim 12, wherein the pair of driven lugs are appended to the cylindrical inner edge and include a straight driven lug and a L-shaped driven lug, the L-shaped lug includes means for grasping the first drive pin during rotation of the handle means in a cap-advancing direction and anti-drift means for releasably retaining the first drive pin in the grasping means. 
     
     
       14. The cap of claim 9, wherein a first of the pair of driven lugs is L-shaped and includes means for grasping the first drive pin during rotation of the handle means in a cap-advancing direction and anti-drift means for releasably retaining the first drive pin in the grasping means, and a second of the pair of driven lugs is straight and extends radially inward toward the axis of rotation. 
     
     
       15. The cap of claim 14, wherein the L-shaped driven lug includes a retaining side and a non-retaining side, the retaining side includes the grasping means and the anti-drift means, the first appendage engages the straight driven lug, the second appendage engages the non-retaining side of the L-shaped driven lug when rotating the handle in a cap-removal direction, the first appendage engages the retaining side of the L-shaped driven lug, and the second appendage engages the straight driven lug when rotating the handle in a cap-advancing direction. 
     
     
       16. The cap of claim 14, wherein the grasping means includes a first member appended to the cylindrical inner edge of the annular ring and extending radially inward toward the axis of rotation and a second member circumferentially extending from a distal end of the first member, and the anti-drift means includes a retaining lug located at a distal end of the second member to form a drive pin-retaining pocket. 
     
     
       17. The cap of claim 8, wherein the delayed actuation means includes placing the pair of driven lugs arranged in a spaced-apart relationship to provide a lost motion and the pair of driven lugs are spaced apart 180° so that 160° lost motion exists. 
     
     
       18. A cap for use in the filler neck of a tank, the cap comprising closure means for closing the filler neck,   torque transmission means for rotating the closure means relative to the filler neck,   handle means for rotating the torque transmission means to rotate the closure means relative to the filler neck about an axis of rotation,   an appendage appended to the underside of the handle means and extending in a direction toward the closure means, and   delayed actuation means for providing a lost-motion driving connection between the handle means and the closure means so that the handle means rotates a predetermined amount between a first and second position before rotating the closure means relative to the filler neck, the delayed actuation means including an L-shaped driven lug arranged to engage the appendage, the L-shaped driven lug including means for grasping the appendage during rotation of the handle means in a cap-advancing direction and anti-drift means for restraining movement of the appendage in the cap-removal direction said L-shaped driven lug having a surface facing radially outwardly to form a part of said grasping means.   
     
     
       19. The cap of claim 18, wherein the handle means includes a shell having a top wall bounded by a cylindrical side wall, a handle formed in the top wall for rotating the handle means, and an appendage directly appended to the underside of the top wall and arranged to lie inside the cylindrical sidewall. 
     
     
       20. The cap of claim 19, wherein the appendage is cantilevered downwardly from the top wall and along an axis parallel to the axis of rotation. 
     
     
       21. The cap of claim 18, wherein the torque transmission means includes an annular ring with a cylindrical outer edge adjacent to the cylindrical side wall, and a cylindrical inner edge concentric to the cylindrical outer edge, and the delayed actuation means further includes a driven lug appended to the cylindrical inner edge. 
     
     
       22. The cap of claim 21, wherein the appendage is cantilevered downwardly from the top wall and arranged to engage the driven lug when the handle means rotates about its axis of rotation. 
     
     
       23. A cap for use in the filler neck of a tank, the cap comprising closure means for closing the filler neck,   handle means for rotating the closure means relative to the filler neck about an axis of rotation including an appendage appended directly to the underside of the handle means and cantilevered downwardly therefrom in an axial direction only, and   delayed actuation means for providing a lost motion driving connection between the handle means and closure means so that the handle means rotates a predetermined amount before rotating the closure means relative to the filler neck, the delayed actuation means including an annular ring lying in between the closure means and handle means and a driven lug appended to the annular ring and arranged to engage the appendage during rotation of the handle means, the driven lug being arranged to partially envelope the appendage during rotation of the handle means in the cap-advancing direction to restrain movement of the handle means in the cap-removal direction, the driven lug being further arranged to release the appendage during rotation of the handle means in the cap-removal direction.   
     
     
       24. The cap of claim 23, wherein the annular ring includes a cylindrical outer edge, a cylindrical inner edge concentric to the cylindrical outer edge, and a bottom side engages the closure means, and the driven lug is appended to the cylindrical inner edge. 
     
     
       25. The cap of claim 24, wherein the driven lug is straight and extends radially inward toward the axis of rotation. 
     
     
       26. The cap of claim 24, wherein the driven lug is L-shaped, the L-shaped lug includes a first member having a proximal end appended to the cylindrical inner edge and a distal end extending radially inwardly toward the axis of rotation a predetermined distance, a second member having a proximal end integrally appended to the distal end of the first member, the second member extending circumferentially to a distal end of the L-shaped lug, and a retaining lug integrally appended to the distal end of the L-shaped lug and extending radially outwardly from the axis of rotation at the distal end, the L-shaped lug being formed to include means for grasping the appendage during rotation of the handle means in a cap-advancing direction and anti-drift means for releasably retaining the appendage in the grasping means. 
     
     
       27. The cap of claim 26, wherein the grasping means includes the portion of the L-shaped lug which extends from the proximal end to the distal end, and the anti-drift means includes the retaining lug which forms an appendage-retaining pocket with the L-shaped lug. 
     
     
       28. The cap of claim 24, wherein a first and second driven lug are appended to the cylindrical inner edge and extend radially inward toward the axis of rotation, the delayed actuation means further includes first and second appendages appended directly to the underside of the handle means and cantilevered downwardly from the handle means into a region bounded by the cylindrical inner edge, the first and second driven lugs and the first and second appendages are arranged so that in a cap-advancing direction the first appendage engages the first driven lug and the second appendage engages the second driven lug and in a cap-removal direction the first appendage engages the second driven lug and the second appendage engages the first driven lug. 
     
     
       29. The cap of claim 28, wherein the first driven lug is L-shaped, the L-shaped driven lug includes grasping means for grasping the first appendage and anti-drift means for releasable retaining the first appendage in the grasping means, and the second driven lug is straight and is arranged to extend in a radially inward direction toward the axis of rotation. 
     
     
       30. A fuel cap for closing the threaded filler neck of a fuel tank, the cap comprising a housing having threads for engaging the filler neck,   sealing means for sealingly engaging the filler neck upon rotation of the housing in one direction to prevent an outward flow of vapor or liquid to the atmosphere,   handle means for rotating the housing relative to the filler neck about an axis of rotation,   delayed actuation means for providing a predetermined amount of relative rotation between the handle means and housing before the handle means rotates the housing relative to the filler neck sufficiently to break the seal provided by the sealing means, the delayed actuation means including an annular ring engaging the closure means, a driven lug appended to the annular ring, and an appendage directly appended to the underside of the handle means and cantilevered downwardly from the underside of the top wall, the appendage being arranged to engage the driven lug during rotation of the handle means about its axis of rotation,   means for grasping the drive pin during rotation of the handle means in a cap-advancing direction, the grasping means including an L-shaped driven lug having a first member having a proximal end appended to the cylindrical inner edge and a distal end extending radially inwardly toward the axis of rotation and a second member having a proximal end integrally appended to the distal end of the first member, the second member extending circumferentially to a distal end of the L-shaped lug, and   anti-drift means for releasably retaining the drive pin when the cap is closed to hold the handle means stationary in the grasping means so that drifting rotation of the cap is substantially blocked thereby maintaining the predetermined amount of relative rotation between the handle means and housing, the anti-drift means including a retaining lug at the distal end of the L-shaped driven lug, the retaining lug extending radially outward from the axis of rotation to form an appendage-retaining pocket.   
     
     
       31. A cap for use in the filler neck of a tank, the filler neck having an annular lip defining a mouth, the cap comprising gasket means for sealing the filler neck,   means for urging the gasket means against the annular lip to block the filler neck and establish a seal blocking an outward flow of fluid and vapor in the filler neck through the filler neck mouth, and   means for applying a driving force to move the urging means relative to the annular lip of the filler neck from a gasket means-tightening position establishing said seal to a gasket means-releasing position breaking said seal, the urging means and the applying means cooperating to provide means for permitting relative movement between the urging means and the applying means to delay establishment of a driving connection between the applying means and the urging means during movement of the applying means in a cap-removal direction, the applying means including a handle having a downwardly cantilevered appendage directly appended to the underside of the handle, said appendage extending in an axial direction only, the urging means including an annular ring having at least one driven lug, a first of the at least one driven lugs being L-shaped and formed to include a first member having a proximal end appended to the annular ring and a distal end extending radially inwardly and a second member having a proximal end integrally appended to the distal end of the first member, the second member extending circumferentially and terminating at a distal end of the L-shaped lug.